Loose Slag from The Still Mill - Mar. 6th

March 06, 2000 by Still Mill

The Miami Smalphins are interested in trading for Huntley. The Smallphins are even interested in making him their feature back.

I suspect Yatil Green will be dangled as trade bait. If this is all they offer, FORGET IT!! Green is a china doll who's been hurt more often than Thigpen.

Plus, Bettis is in the final year of his contract. It'd be foolish to deal Huntley now, and then lose Bettis to free agency come next February. There's small talk about Fu being able to step in for the '01 season, which should be treated as balderdash. Fu has been the perennial china doll, just as he was in college. You cannot entrust your running game to an injury-plagued back who, in 2 NFL season, has done little more than carry the ball on a few token draw plays on 3d and long. There's also Amos Z, but since Bill Cowhead rotted him on the pine last season in a feeble attempt to save his own job, we have no idea what his stamina and durability is in the NFL.

We SHOULD have made Hunt's contract offer bigger in the 1st place. Now we're in the midst of trying to work out a 3-year deal for Hunt. One of the reasons given in the PG for the Stillers to think of this trade, is that "they have only 4 WRs under contract and need another one." If this is truly their line of thinking, then there's some sad-assed thinking going on down at Steeler HQ. You don't trade a young, impact RB for some mediocre WR simply because you have a shortage at WR. You don't trade pearls for cow chips. If you need a WR --- and we do --- you either trade some un-needed fat from your roster (ie, Stai, Gildon), or you go out and sign a doggone capable receiver. It's absolutely ludicrous that this team --- a team that has subpar quarterbacking; a team that has always placed heavy emphasis on the running game --- is now thinking of trading a young, stellar RB for some unwanted slop from a team already WEAK at the receiver position.

Speaking of WR, we had a GOLDEN chance to sign veteran WR Jake Reed a couple weeks ago, but sat around doing NOTHING and allowed the Saints to sign him for about $300K LESS than what we gave Krimo Von Hole Often.

I'm not saying Jake Reed is a "savoir". What I'm saying, is that Reed COULD have been a HUGE asset to a Steeler WR corps that lacks even ONE receiver taller than Utah point guard John Stockton.

Reed is 6-3, 220. The man has 297 catches for 4,800 yards in the last four seasons, an average of 16.2 yards per catch. He has played in 71 consecutive games including playoffs. His is NOT some old, brokendown receiver who can no longer perform. Obviously with Carter and Moss in Minnesota, he was expendable and didn't see as much PT in '99. Still, in '99 he had a 14.6 YPC average --- far better than Will Jackwell --- and had 2 TDs - two MORE than Lil' Courtney Hawkins has caught the past TWO SEASONS. His longest reception was 50 yards --- far more than the nickel & dime stuff of our current receivers.

Further, Stewart NEEDS a BIG target. He had that with Thigpen. His scattershot accuracy demands that he have a big security blanket to haul in his poor throws. Reed would have given this to us.

Some might say Reed "is too expensive". Like it's been pointed out, we paid MORE for Kreamo Van Hole Often, than the Aint's did for Reed. Reed was NOT too expensive --- we simply decided to spend our dollars on a journeyman DT rather than a starting WR.

Then there'll be talk of "we'll draft a starting WR in April." Didn't we LEARN our lesson last year??????

1. Cowher HATES rookies.

2. Unless the guy can memorize the playbook in 4 different languages, including Mandarin Chinese, he will be deemed "not comfortable enough with the offense" to be named a starter.

3. The adjustment period for most rookie WRs in terms of getting used to the speed and ruggedness of the NFL is at least several games, which Cowhead is not willing to give the guy and which our sagging offense cannot afford.

BOTTOM LINE: we NEED a veteran STARTING receiver to be acquired NOW, so that we can go into camp with he and Troy entrenched as the starters and so our offense can immediately start to mesh during the pre-season, something that has NOT occurred AT ALL the past 2 preseasons.